Shoppers 'out in great numbers' last month

Latest footfall figures show shoppers took to Wales' high streets 'in great numbers' last month.

In the latest High Street Index, the number of shoppers increased by nearly four per cent compared with March 2011, and nearly 17 per cent compared with February this year.

Springboard figures show that Wales is doing better than the UK as a whole, with the national footfall decreasing two per cent on March last year.

Coastal towns benefited from soaring temperatures in late March with Porthcawl, in Bridgend, achieving about a one hundred per cent footfall increase.

Wales month-on-month 16.9% increase

Wales year-on-year 3.9% increase

Porthcawl, Bridgend, saw an increase in 101.5%

The cost of petrol and parking undoubtedly played a part in the relative underperformance of regional cities in recent months, however, their recovery in March demonstrates that town centres can see a rapid turnaround of fortune.